Bible Rank: 343

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
NIV

AND NOW let me remind you [since it seems to have escaped you], brethren, of the Gospel (the glad tidings of salvation) which I proclaimed to you, which you welcomed and accepted and upon which your faith rests
AMP

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
KJV

Amplified Bible

1 AND NOW let me remind you [since it seems to have escaped you], brethren, of the Gospel (the glad tidings of salvation) which I proclaimed to you, which you welcomed and accepted and upon which your faith rests

2 And by which you are saved, if you hold fast and keep firmly what I preached to you, unless you believed at first without effect and all for nothing.

3 For I passed on to you first of all what I also had received, that Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for our sins in accordance with [what] the Scriptures [foretold], [Isa. 53:5-12.]

4 That He was buried, that He arose on the third day as the Scriptures foretold, [Ps. 16:9, 10.]

6 Then later He showed Himself to more than five hundred brethren at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep [in death].

7 Afterward He was seen by James, then by all the apostles (the special messengers)

8 And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one prematurely and born dead [no better than an unperfected fetus among living men].

9 For I am the least [worthy] of the apostles, who am not fit or deserving to be called an apostle, because I once wronged and pursued and molested the church of God [oppressing it with cruelty and violence].

10 But by the grace (the unmerited favor and blessing) of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not [found to be] for nothing (fruitless and without effect). In fact, I worked harder than all of them [the apostles], though it was not really I, but the grace (the unmerited favor and blessing) of God which was with me.

11 So, whether then it was I or they, this is what we preach and this is what you believed [what you adhered to, trusted in, and relied on].

12 But now if Christ (the Messiah) is preached as raised from the dead, how is it that some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen

14 And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is in vain [it amounts to nothing] and your faith is devoid of truth and is fruitless (without effect, empty, imaginary, and unfounded).

15 We are even discovered to be misrepresenting God, for we testified of Him that He raised Christ, Whom He did not raise in case it is true that the dead are not raised.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

Becoming a Christian

Would you like to experience forgiveness and new life from the God of the Bible,
who calls every person to believe that he sent his son Jesus Christ
to make this possible?

The Bible explains why everyone needs to receive forgiveness and is called to serve
Jesus Christ. The consistency of the Bible story, which was authored by people living
thousands of years apart from diverse cultures and even different languages, is
often cited as evidence of divine inspiration. Wikipedia has a list of many
Biblical
prophesies which have come true.

The story of God's plan to restore his relationship with us can be summarised in eight
famous Bible verses below.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

John 14:6

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Ephesians 2:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19

The truth in these verses is simple, yet to embrace it means letting go of all our personal hopes and
dreams and embracing God's greater purpose for our lives instead,
a purpose far above anything we could dream or imagine.

This is the most important decision you will ever make, because it affects not just the rest of
your life here on earth, but what comes after as well. Don't put it off until too late. If you
died tonight make the decision to spend eternity with your loving Father in Heaven.

If you're wondering what to do next as a new Christian, check out these helpful suggestions from Mary Fairchild on About.com: